WORLD METALS, INC., ETC., APPELLANT,
v.
TOWNLEY FOUNDRY AND MACHINE CO., INC., APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 1991-09-19
No. 91-698
GOSHORN, C.J., and DAUKSCH, J., concur.
585 So. 2d 1185 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (1991) Positive Treatment
Cited by 6 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.


Holding

The court held that conflicting affidavits regarding the location of contract breach necessitate an evidentiary hearing to determine personal jurisdiction.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court must hold an evidentiary hearing to resolve disputed factual issues when affidavits submitted in support of and in opposition to a motion to quash service o…

[2] Jurisdiction under Florida's long-arm statute requires both the allegation of sufficient jurisdictional facts and the existence of sufficient "minimum contacts" with the…

Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Townley Foundry sued World Metals for breach of contract, alleging non-conforming goods were delivered. World Metals, an Ohio corporation, moved to qu…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
W. SHARP, Judge.

W. SHARP, Judge.

World Metals, Inc., appeals from an order denying its motion to quash service of process.1 We reverse the order and remand for an evidentiary hearing on the issue of Florida’s “long-arm” jurisdiction over World Metals, an Ohio corporation.

This case arose when Townley Foundry and Machine Co., Inc., a Florida corporation, filed suit in Florida against World Metals for breach of contract to supply surplus molding flasks without grates and plates. According to Townley, the shipments sent by World Metals to Townley in Florida were not the goods requested.

World Metals moved to quash service of process or to dismiss Townley’s complaint for lack of jurisdiction. In support, World Metals submitted an affidavit from its president, E. William Glause, who stated in part:

8. That in connection with the transaction which is the subject matter of the above captioned litigation, at no time did any officer, member, employee or agent of the Defendant corporation travel to the State of Florida to meet with any representative of the Plaintiff.

9. That as reflected in paragraph 2 of the Complaint filed by the Plaintiff, the Plaintiff representative telephoned the Defendant in the Defendant’s office in Ohio to order a certain product described as “surplus molding flasks.”

10. That prior to the telephone call of September 5, 1990, the Plaintiff’s representatives had traveled to the Defendant’s place of business in the State of Ohio for the purpose of reviewing the product to be purchased.

11. That Plaintiff made payment for said product with the payment being sent to the State of Ohio. 12. That the Defendant, WORLD METALS, INC., did not ship the product in question to the State of Florida. Rather, the Plaintiff made independent arrangements to travel to the State of Ohio, pick up the product in question, and transport it back to the State of Florida.

In response, Townley filed the affidavit of its vice-president, Sarah Hall, who stated in part:

3. That WORLD METALS, INC., (hereinafter “WORLD”) first contacted TOWNLEY via an advertisement that WORLD placed in Foundry Management and Technology magazine.

4. That WORLD followed up its general solicitation with a solicitation targeted directly toward TOWNLEY.

5. That WORLD directed at least fifteen telephone calls to TOWNLEY employees in further solicitation of TOWNLEY’S business shown by the attached summary of TOWNLEY’S incoming telephone call log. 6. That in reliance upon the representation of WORLD, TOWNLEY entered into a contract for the purchase of surplus molding, flasks, said contract to be performed in the State of Florida.

7. That said contract was breached in the State of Florida when non-conforming goods were delivered.

To determine whether personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant has been established, the trial court must first determine whether the plaintiff has alleged sufficient jurisdictional facts to bring the action within the ambit of the long-arm statute. Here Townley relied on section 48.193(1)(g), Florida Statutes (1989) which provides for jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant who breaches a contract in this state by failing to perform acts required by the contract to be performed in this state. Assuming that sufficient facts are alleged to bring the defendant within the ambit of the long-arm statute, the trial court must next determine whether the defendant has sufficient “minimum contacts” with the forum state to satisfy due process requirements. Venetian Salami Co. v. Parthenais, 554 So. 2d 499 (Fla.1989); Ford Motor Co. v. Atwood Vacuum Machine Co., 392 So. 2d 1305 (Fla.), cert. denied, 452 U.S. 901, 101 S.Ct. 3024, 69 L.Ed.2d 401 (1981).

The filing of a motion to dismiss on grounds of lack of jurisdiction over the person raises the legal sufficiency of the pleading. A defendant wishing to contest the allegations of the complaint concerning jurisdiction or to raise the contention of a lack of minimum contacts must file affidavits in support of his position. The burden is then placed on the plaintiff to show by affidavit the basis upon which jurisdiction may be obtained. Venetian Salami Co. If the affidavits establish facts which are not controverted, the trial court can then resolve the legal issue. However, if the affidavits cannot be reconciled and are in conflict, then the trial court must hold an evidentiary hearing to determine the jurisdiction issue. Venetian Salami Co., 554 So. 2d at 502-503. It is not proper to determine disputed factual matters on the basis of affidavits alone.

Here the affidavits of Glause and Hall clearly conflict on the issue of whether the contract was breached in Florida or Ohio. That turns on whether the goods were sold and delivered in Ohio, or whether, as Townley alleged, the contract encompassed delivery of the goods to Townley in Florida. Accordingly, we remand the case to the trial court to hold an evidentiary hearing to determine the disputed factual jurisdictional issues. Venetian Salami Co.; Winterthur International Ltd. v. Palacios, 559 So. 2d 1214 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990); Nordmark Presentations, Inc. v. Harman, 557 So. 2d 649 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990).

REVERSED and REMANDED.

GOSHORN, C.J., and DAUKSCH, J., concur. . Fla.R.App.P. 9.130(a)(3)(C)(i).


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • John Posey Corp. v. R.J.T. Eng'g, Inc., 617 So. 2d 441 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993)
    …arm statute and the defendant must have sufficient “minimum contacts” with the forum state to satisfy due process requirements. Venetian Salami Co. v. Parthenais, 554 So. 2d 499 (Fla.1989); World Metals, Inc. v. Townley Foundry & Machine Co., Inc., 585 So. 2d 1185 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991); Unger v. Publisher Entry Service, Inc., 513 So. 2d 674 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987), rev. denied, 520 So. 2d 586 (Fla.1988). A defendant wishing to contest the allegations of the complaint concerning jurisdiction or to raise the contenti…
  • Wartski v. Sencer, 615 So. 2d 794 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993)
    …next determine whether the defendant had sufficient “minimum contacts” with the forum state to satisfy due process requirements. Venetian Salami Co. v. Parthenais, 554 So. 2d 499 (Fla.1989); World Metals, Inc. v. Townley Foundry & Machine Co., Inc., 585 So. 2d 1185 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991); Unger v. Publisher Entry Service, Inc., 513 So. 2d 674 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987), rev. denied, 520 So. 2d 586 (Fla.1988). The filing of a motion to dismiss on grounds of lack of jurisdiction over the person raises the legal sufficien…
  • Garrett Blake Beaubien v. Cambridge Consol., Ltd., 652 So. 2d 936 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995)
    …old a limited evidentiary hearing on the issue of jurisdiction. Doe v. Thompson, 620 So. 2d 1004 (Fla.1993); Venetian Salami Company; Wartski v. Sencer, 615 So. 2d 794 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993); World Metals, Inc. v. Townley Foundry and Machine Co., Inc., 585 So. 2d 1185 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991). The appellants contend that Florida has jurisdiction over Cambridge pursuant to section 48.193(l)(a), (b) or (g). This statute provides: 48.193. Acts subjecting person to jurisdiction of courts of state (1) Any person, whethe…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw